(In his latest newsletter, Rep. Myron Neth, R-Liberty, scolds some of his constituents who let him know, in no uncertain terms, how unhappy they were with the comments he maid about Medicaid expansion in his mid-week newsletter. His message- If you'r e not nice, I don't care what you say.)
It was another busy week in the Capitol with the budget deadline. Earlier this week, I sent out a Capitol Report detailing the Legislature's veto override of SB 509 and the Medicaid expansion protest that took place in the Senate Chamber, so I will not repeat those topics here.
I was surprised at a number of negative responses I got from my mid-week report. By no means am I surprised that some people disagree with me on certain issues. However, the tone and content of many of the responses were extremely rude and disrespectful. I do not see how people expect me to respond or seriously consider feedback when it is delivered in such a poor manner. I understand one's passion on a given issue and that, at times, there might be disappointment, but sending an abrasive message dilutes anything that might be said and carries much less weight than a cordial and well stated response.
(This was the portion of Rep. Neth's midweek newsletter that appears to have ticked off some of his constituents.)
The second event that took place was a protest in the Senate Gallery. A large group of people took over the gallery to protest for the expansion of Medicaid.
Well, I can almost definitively say that we will not be expanding Medicaid this year. It was just derailed by the very people that want it to happen. The large number of Medicaid supporters, many clergy included, started a protest in the Senate gallery and had to be forcibly removed. I even believe some of the clergy were taken into custody.
There have been several Republicans, Sen. Silvey and Rep. Torpey to name a few, leading the charge behind the scenes to possibly get something done and they were making some strides in doing so. However, now I am sure that the Senators and others who have traditionally opposed it will now really dig in their heels on our efforts to get something done.
Like Sen. Silvey mentioned in a tweet, "It's incredibly frustrating, after all the work I've put in to solve the Medicaid problem, to be sunk by the very people I'm trying to help."
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